LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

In the past, SHEI has been interested in the ways that mankind negatively affects the environment with overconsumption, exploitation of resources and unsustainable fashion cycles (these ideas have been discussed in particular in both Future of Fashion, Epiphany, and Death of Fashion). Terraform presents a new angle to this discussion by looking at the ways in which humans can interact with the environment in a healthy and inspiring way.

Terraform is defined as “transforming a place so that it can support life”. What does it look like to work in tandem with nature to create a space most conducive to the lives we want to live? Through a radically optimistic lens, some shoots explore ways in which we can synchronize our needs as humans with that which is naturally provided by the Earth. Cultivate, for example, depicts a form of farming that is respectful and reverent to nature. Aj Barberti, the model for this shoot, works on the campus farm (where these photos were taken). I believe these photos reflect his genuine engagement with the earth and are a testament to the relationship he has forged through cultivation, which is such a beautiful word that calls to mind mutual nurturing and love. The produce that’s grown with love and care on the farm also lovingly nourishes those who consume its offerings.

Some content in this digital also turns to ways in which our environment shapes who we are and how we live our lives. Sailor West’s feature, Postgraduation Adaptation: a Deepdive on Cities explores the different personalities of the places people gather, bringing it close to home by looking specifically at post-graduation destinations for University of Michigan students. A testament to the power place exerts on how we see the world and ourselves, we understand that the human manipulation of the earth (by the establishment of a city, for example) creates a “world” of its own with its own rules and challenges.

The interaction between man and nature is a complicated one. In a lot of ways it’s easy to condemn human behavior for its destructive tendencies (and they should be condemned). But following this conversation can be one about how we can shape the earth and how we can allow ourselves to be shaped by the earth in order to create harmony and balance. This is a constant negotiation that requires us to ask questions and seek real answers, a couple of which you can find here.

Melina Schaefer Editor-In-Chief

Do we shape our surroundings, or do our surroundings shape us? Do we shape our surroundings because our surroundings shape us? Terraform naturally poses these questions of genesis, but it also decomposes them. Take the word itself—close your fingers around its two leafy stalks of morpheme, one in each hand, and extract them from the earth. Gently tug the word apart and disentangle its meshwork of roots. You’ll see that terraform is, quite literally, the coalescence of nature and nurture, effectively erasing the need for an either-or framework.

Scoop up the loosened earth that crumbles off the roots of the uprooted term and transfer it to a terracotta pot of your choice. Watch as the soil clumps together and takes the shape of its container—your environment. That container can be of any size or degree of concreteness and go by any number of names, from geographical area to childhood bedroom, from life stage to the inevitable passage of time. Transplant the altered soil to another receptacle, and you can observe the process reassuringly repeat.

In TERRAFORM, we examine the symbioses we share with our environments and celebrate our adaptability to change. The way soil remembers the shape of a pot it was housed in for some time but can always be reworked to fit a new one, in this issue we explore how our relationships with our surroundings shape who we are, who we have been, and who we can be.

Janice Kang Digital Features Editor